* Read "The Leopard," Giuseppe di Lampedusa's elegy to the waning 19th century in Sicily; "The House by the Medlar Tree: I Malavoglia," a gaunt little classic by Giovanni Verga about the island's hopeless poor; "Fire Under the Ashes," James McNeish's 1965 biography of Danilo Dolci, the Gandhi of Sicily; "Last Godfathers," an all-too-vivid history of the Sicilian Mafia, by John Follain; "On Persephone's Island," Mary Taylor Simeti's ode to the natural rhythms of the island; and every mystery novel by Andrea Camilleri, featuring the Sicilian gourmand and gumshoe Salvo Montalbano, that you can get your hands on.

* Be mindful of the stories they tell, but don't be paralyzed about what people say about the dangers and hardships of traveling here. Western Sicily is laced with ultra-modern superhighways and beautiful back roads.

THE BEST WAY TO PALERMO From LAX, connecting service (change of planes) to Palermo, Italy, is available on Air France and Delta, connecting to Alitalia, Lufthansa and British. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $407.